Trial offers fresh hope for patients resistant to standard cancer treatments

CHICAGO

 A new cancer treatment tested in patients who had exhausted existing options has delivered what researchers are calling unprecedented results, raising fresh hopes for people with advanced head and neck cancers.

The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, come from an international study led by the U.K.’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The trial involved 102 patients from 11 countries whose cancers had either spread or returned and no longer responded to standard treatments, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Researchers administered amivantamab, a targeted therapy developed by Johnson & Johnson, to patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. The results showed that tumors shrank or disappeared in 43 participants. Most notably, tumors were completely eradicated in 15 patients, a response experts described as remarkable for a group with very limited treatment options.

Professor Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research said the outcomes ranked among the strongest responses ever observed in this category of patients. He noted that therapeutic options are often extremely limited once chemotherapy and immunotherapy fail, making the scale of benefit particularly significant.

Amivantamab works by attacking cancer through three separate mechanisms. The drug blocks two biological pathways that help tumors grow while also stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Among the participants was 56-year-old Carl Walsh, who said he struggled to speak and eat before entering the trial. After several treatment cycles, he reported a substantial reduction in swelling and pain and said he has since been able to return to a normal daily life.

Scientists caution that the findings must still be confirmed through larger studies before the treatment can become a standard option. Nevertheless, the early results have generated considerable interest within the oncology community and are being viewed as one of the most promising recent developments for patients whose cancers no longer respond to conventional therapies.